Take Note

Starring Roles

University High School in Los Angeles has never taught a Kennedy,
but it has played one on TV. Well, sort of.

The imposing brick building serves as a filming location for the WB
network's popular series "7th Heaven." Some of the characters on the
family-oriented show attend the fictional Kennedy High School.

University High also has played roles in the TV show "Lizzie
McGuire" and the movie "Bruce Almighty."

Its fee is $1,700 per day; its agent, the Los Angeles Unified School
District.

With an eye on their tight budgets, an increasing number of schools
in the district are seeking such roles. A total of 165 campuses have
added themselves to the Entertainment Industry Development Corp.'s
"film-friendly schools" list.

In fact, filming adds $1 million annually to the school district's
$6 billion budget. However, the nonprofit economic-development
corporation—which acts as a middleman between the district and
the entertainment industry—cautions against seeing filming as a
cure-all for the district's monetary problems.

"It's all relative. LAUSD has a billion-dollar budget. Filming
increases it by a million," said Susan Yackley, the director of
business development for the corporation's facilities and services
division. "It will not solve the budget issues at hand."

The corporation, created by the city and county governments, took
over the leasing aspect of filming in 2001, after production companies
overwhelmed Los Angeles principals.

Whenever a production is filmed on school property, 12 percent of
the fee goes to the corporation. Of the remaining money, 75 percent
goes to the school and 25 percent goes to the district. Principals can
use schools' revenues for items on their wish lists.

"Filming is our school's biggest fund-raiser," said Dino Stirpe, the
movie-industry liaison for Verdugo Hills High School, which has served
as a backdrop for such shows as "CSI" and "American Dreams."

"Without it, we wouldn't be able to put uniforms on our football
team."

Sometimes, the experience of having their campus filmed turns out to
be an educational opportunity for students.

"The production company gets their location, the principal gets
their money, and the students get their experience. It's a win- win for
all sides," Ms. Yackey said.